M. Another masterpiece from Fritz Lang featuring Peter Lorre at his best.

The Witch. A contemporary classic that scared the bejesus out of me from Director/Writer Robert Eggers and A24 the production company par excellence.

The Night of The Iguana. Directed by John Huston starring Richard Burton as a defrocked alcoholic priest cum tour bus driver, Sue Lyon as “Lolita” (not literally but you get my drift), Ava Gardner as herself, and a bus load of cranky dysentery-laiden ladies bumping around a steamy Mexico.

Mr. Hulot’s Holiday. Another comedic masterpiece from Jacques Tati.

The Enigma of Kasper Hauser. I could include every one of Werner Herzog’s early films on this list but that wouldn’t be any fun. Kasper Hauser is bleak and beautiful while Bruno S.’ performance goes way beyond acting.

Stalker. Andrei Tarkovsky takes us on a journey to end all journeys. Makes Apocalypse Now, another favorite, feel like a Disney flick.

The Haunting. The second movie to scare the living daylights out of me. Based on the novel by Shirley Jackson, Hill House was inspired by the home Jackson lived in in North Bennington, VT while her husband taught at Bennington College, my alma mater. I arrived early one semester and was put in. . .The House. Hill House! My room also housed the door the the attic. Needless to say I did not sleep one bloody wink. This movie was remade a few times but the original is the only one worth watching. The book is even better.

Runner’s Up (in stream of consciousness order) [footnote 1]:

The Servant (1963)
Solaris (Tarkovsky)
2001
Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb
The Blue Dahlia
The Big Sleep
Fitzcarraldo
Diva
Repulsion
Apocalypse Now
Contempt (Le Mépris)
Breathless
Mon Oncle
Beaches (ha! kidding!)
The Hunger
The Wages of Fear (Le salaire de la peur )
Predator
Dracula (1931) Bela is Dracula in my book
The Bride of Frankenstein
Wise Blood (the book by Flannery O’Connor is also way up top on my favorite book list)
La Dolce Vita
Horror Hotel
The Abominable Dr. Phibes
Duffy
The 5,000 Fingers of Dr. T
Salò, or the 120 Days of Sodom
Stranger Than Paradise
The Night of the Hunter
The Wild Bunch
The Seventh Seal
The Trip
Wild in the Streets
La Femme Nikita (1990)
Wings of Desire
The American Friend
The Awful Dr. Orloff (Gritos en la noche)
Suspiria
The Quiller Memorandum
Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf?
The Hustler (1961)
The Long Goodbye
The Killing
Gilda
Sunset Boulevard
Double Indemnity
Lolita
Blow Up
Lawrence of Arabia
Paris, Texas
Blue Velvet
The Cabinet of Jan Svankmajer (pictured up top)